Bankrupt Betty's tale of going through the process of Bankruptcy and how she IS reclaiming her life,sanity and finances.

Monday, May 26, 2008

The Holiday Weekend Was A Good One

I got sooo much done this past weekend. I did another bunch of laundry at the Laundromat, but think I'm all caught up on the big stuff (sheets, blankets, pillows), managed to redo a couple of the flower beds (moving plants around), repotted some of the house plants, moved the lawn (both the 'old' and 'new' grass), cleaned the patio furniture (I am typing this on my patio on my old laptop!), re-organized my garden shed (again), got a trash run in, had a nice pizza dinner with some friends on Saturday, re-read two books I wanted to re-read, organized my bookshelves, did a mini closet purge, the list goes on and I feel pretty darned good about it. And the weather here was and is just FABULOUS-perfect Holiday weekend weather.

Lots of the stuff I did was all piddly little stuff, but things that I kept putting off and putting off, so my to do list just got longer and longer. I feel sooo much better getting a lot of the small chores done and out of the way. Something as simple as re-hanging a couple pictures and tidying my bookshelves make me feel really good. I did a long overdue purge of my skirt collection. Since my consignment shop sales have been painfully low, I packed it all in a bag and took the skirts I no longer fit into to Goodwill. I'll take the tax write off. I can't be bothered to wait for someone to buy my clothes at the consignment shop. My goal was to purge the skirts this weekend and purge I did. I did donate some nice skirts, but I've gotten so heavy that I don't fit into them. Instead of having them sit in my closet and REMIND me just how chunky I've become, off they go to Goodwill!

To counteract the chunky feeling, I bought a new bathroom scale and will go back to weekly weigh ins. The nice (read expensive) health club is running a summer special-12 weeks for $150. As I've said before, it's a doctors order that I lose weight. I was not liking the number I saw on the scale. I've gone back to walking about 1.5 to 2 miles a day with the dogs, but I need some sustained cardio (spinning, elliptical trainer, Stairmaster) and weights to jumpstart my metabolism. I'm not thrilled to spend the $150 for the twelve weeks, but this is a medical necessity. Just go check out Jennsylvania and Such a Pretty Fat and you will see where I'm coming from. I will also publicly declare that I will not be buying beer and wine~well at least, I won't be buying it to have with meals while I do the summer special. I finished the last of some really bad box wine this week (given to me, I did not buy it) and if I'm going to drink, it's diet tonic and all that gin and vodka sitting in my cupboard.

My cupboards are bursting with a lot of foodstuff. I have about 6 pounds of pasta, lots of dried beans, 8 pounds of rice (I bought a ten pound bag a while back) a bunch of stuff in the freezer and other assorted canned items. I'm hoping to do a few weeks of 'eat up the pantry staples' before I have to do a serious food shop. The month of April showed me I could survive on a food budget of $100 and I think I spent $105 total. Five bucks was for food for a forgotten pot lock. If I planned properly, I probably would have come in well under the $100. My "plan" is to really only buy things like fresh fruit and veg and some milk if I need it.

Meals I can make just off the top of my head from my staples

1) Pasta-with pesto, with tomato sauce, with a cheese sauce, with butter and cheese, -you get the picture2) Beans: burritos, beans and rice, bean soup, enchiladas, baked beans3) Chicken stock: can make chicken soup-regular, rice or vegetable4) Veggie Burgers and Hot dogs-slap those babies on the grill, make a salad, use up the frozen French fries-quick easy dinner.5) Eggs: Breakfast for dinner-pancakes, omelets, egg salad6) Chicken Breast: Grilled, poached, with BBQ sauce, stir fried,7) Chicken thighs: I love these on the grill period8) 3 small Steaks: grill them for supper, slice up for steak sandwich, cube into a mini beef stew9) Pizza dough- make pizzas regular and mini sized (take a mini to lunch), make a calzone (use up leftover veg and cheese).10) Guava paste: on crackers with cream cheese is a great after dinner sweet treat.11) Crackers: I have a boat load of crackers, I can eat them plain, have them with soup, put some peanut butter and jelly on them, eat them with cheese.12) Curry Sauces: bean curry, chicken curry, beef curry, vegetarian curry

The list goes on…

I can plan at least two weeks worth of meals with just what I have in the pantry and fridge. As far as I know, I have no pot lucks planned that will require me shopping for additional food items, I can start on the food purge this week (I already made a really great macaroni salad for my lunches and sandwiches).

As weird as it sounds, having the extra time off gave me the time to just sit and "look" at my cupboards. No Costco shopping for at least two weeks!

3 comments:

I was surfing and found your blog. Donating clothing is liberating, isn't it? Less stuff to wade through and remind me how "chunky" (love your word!)I've gotten. You're doing great in organizing your life. I enjoy your blog - easy to read.

Drink LOTS of water while you are trying to lose weight. They recommend 1/2 oz per pound of body weight per day. I know for me, that's a lot of water but when I drink it consistently the weight just falls off. Also make sure that you eat a balanced breakfast within one hour of getting up. Breakfast will help jumpstart your metabolism quicker than anything else. Good luck!!

About Me

I am a Baby Boomer who has taken the drastic step of personal bankruptcy. This blog is about my journey through the last stages of the bankruptcy application and what has happen to me from that point on. You also get my rantings and ravings as I re-learn some of lifes basic lessons on money managment. DISCLAIMER:I am not a financial expert! Any financial advice posted here has been taken from a variety of sources. I highly recommend you seek professional advice when it comes to you and your money. Let's face it, I've declared Bankruptcy! But hopefully I have learned from my experience. These links and blogs come from a variety of sources. Please do your research and make your decisions with what to do with your money and finances after consulting with a professional.